Question:
How do I modify or recreate an Act! database .PAD file?
Product:
Product Family: Act!
Product: Act! Pro, Act! Premium
Version: 2005 and later
Answer:
Locating the .PAD file
By default, databases and their .PAD files are created to one of the following locations, depending on your version of Windows:
If your database is not in the default location, but you are not sure where to locate it, you can locate it by using the steps in the following knowledgebase article:
How to determine the location of an Act! database
Answer ID How to determine the location of an Act! database
Option 1: Modifying the .PAD file
Option 2: Recreating the .PAD file
How do I modify or recreate an Act! database .PAD file?
Product:
Product Family: Act!
Product: Act! Pro, Act! Premium
Version: 2005 and later
Answer:
Locating the .PAD file
By default, databases and their .PAD files are created to one of the following locations, depending on your version of Windows:
- Windows Vista®/Windows® 7 and later: C:\Users\[Windows username]\My Documents\Act\Act Data\Databases
- Windows XP/Windows Server 2003: C:\Documents and Settings\[Windows username]\My Documents\ACT\ACT Data\Databases
If your database is not in the default location, but you are not sure where to locate it, you can locate it by using the steps in the following knowledgebase article:
How to determine the location of an Act! database
Answer ID How to determine the location of an Act! database
Option 1: Modifying the .PAD file
- Browse to the location of your Act! database
- Right-click the .PAD file, select Open with, then select Notepad
Note: If you do not see the option for Notepad, you will need to select Choose default program…, select Notepad from the list of Other Programs, uncheck Always use the selected program to open this kind of file, then click OK.
- Make necessary changes to the .PAD file, such as updating the Host name to a new name or IP address, or updating the file path to a new one
- Save and close the file
Option 2: Recreating the .PAD file
- Close Act!, then browse to the location of your Act! database file
- Rename the .PAD file associated with your database by adding .old after .pad (for example MyDatabase.pad.old)
- Detach the database from the Microsoft SQL Server (ACT7) instance. For instructions, refer to the following knowledgebase article:
How to detach an Act! database from the Microsoft SQL Server (ACT7) instance
Answer ID How to detach an Act! database from the Microsoft SQL Server (ACT7) instance
- After detaching the database, close Act! diagnostics
- Open the database in Act! using the ADF to reattach the database and recreate the PAD file. For instructions, refer to the following knowledgebase article:
How to open an Act! database using the .ADF file
Answer ID How to open an Act! database using the .ADF file